In a new Pew Research Center survey among the nation’s veterans, the majority of them support President Trump and view the wars on Iraq and Afghanistan as mistakes.
57% of the veterans surveyed said they approve of the way Trump has been handling his job as commander-in-chief. Of that 57%, 49% said they “approve very strongly.” This is a stark contrast between the general public, where only 41% said they approve of his job performance with the military.
Despite the large support, 45% of them said Trump doesn’t listen enough to military leaders in making national security decisions.
Broken down into political affiliation, 92% of veterans who identified as Republicans or right-leaning said they back Trump. Only 6% of veterans who identify as Democrats or left-leaning said they approve of Trump.
Compared when a similar survey was conducted in 2011, 77% of Democratic veterans approved of President Barack Obama’s performance as commander-in-chief, while 81% of Republican veterans disapproved of Obama’s handling of the military.
Pew also found 64% of veterans said the war in Iraq was not worth fighting, and 58% said the war in Afghanistan was not worth fighting. While a smaller number of Americans troops fight in Syria, 55% of veterans said the military campaign was also not worth it.
